Hayden Zillmer stays on the mat by wrestling Greco-Roman and moving up to 98 kg

Cadet Triple crown winner and 2016 Bill Farrell International runner-up Hayden Zillmer is fully focusing on Greco-Roman wrestling after completing a folkstyle wrestling career at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D.
After having a rough ending to his college career, Zillmer knew he wanted to get back on the mat. Just two weeks following the 2016 NCAA Championships in New York City, Zillmer entered into the Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Zillmer failed to place at the NCAA’s as a senior after earning All-American status as a junior.
Coming out on top at the Last Chance Qualifier, he punched his ticket to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Iowa City, Iowa in Greco-Roman.
Competing in Greco-Roman wasn’t always planned. It was his craving to get back on the mat that drove his decision to continue.
“I didn’t have a very good NCAA Tournament last year. I felt like I had to get back on the mat. So, hey, I’ll wrestle Greco at the last chance qualifier and then I wrestled and won the Last Chance Qualifier and good things happened from there, so I decided, hey, I’ll wrestle Greco for a while,” he said.
And good things did indeed come.
Zillmer went on to place third at the U.S. Olympic Trials at 85 kg. In June, he competed at Asics University Nationals in Akron, Ohio where he also placed third.
While having a heavy background in three different styles of wrestling, Zillmer heavily focused on folkstyle wrestling while he was in college. In their nature, folkstyle and freestyle wrestling are very similar. The transition from folkstyle to Greco-Roman after college isn’t one you see achieved quickly for most wrestlers.
He kept up with his Greco skills as he trained in college, though, and made a habit of working his Greco moves into his folkstyle wrestling.
“[While wrestling folkstyle,] I would always attack using upper body stuff off shots. I transitioned kinda well. It was natural. I always think ‘wrestling’s wrestling.’ You just have to stand up there and fight,” he said.
Although his transition overall has gone smoothly he knows that he’s brought some bad habits of folkstyle back with him into Greco-Roman.
“I make some bad habits out of folkstyle into Greco and I just have to fix that. I think that’ll come. I’ve been wrestling folkstyle for how many years? You always do the same thing over and over and some of those things just get you in trouble in Greco. I’m always dropping my head because every time someone takes a shot in folkstyle, you drop your head and look to score,” he said.
Zillmer started off his Senior Greco-Roman career at 85 kg and it was after University Nationals that he made the decision to move up a weight class to 98 kg/216 lbs. He has since run into G’Angelo Hancock a number of times.
Hancock and Zillmer have met in the finals at both the Bill Farrell International in New York City and the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. Both matches ended in Hancock’s favor by only two points.
Zillmer takes a positive outlook on it all.
“It’s good that we’re both competitive and we’re only going to make each other better,” he said.
Even with Hancock in his weight class, the decision to move up a weight class looks like an advantage to Zillmer. He will be healthy and training hard preparing to wrestle next week at the Dave Schultz Memorial International, Feb. 1.
“I don’t like taking time out of training to have to cut weight. You can’t train and it takes the developmental part out of it. I just have to look at it like that and you can train hard through everything,” he said.
Following his graduation and competitions in the States, Zillmer headed overseas for his first international experience. Upon arriving overseas Zillmer participated in a training camp in Sweden. He then competed in the Herman Kare Tournament in Kouvola, Finland, Jan. 14, where he was a silver medalist.
“Getting overseas and getting that exposure was nice, I met a lot of good people. I made some connections over there so now their gonna come over here and train with me,” he said.
Leading up to his time spent overseas Zillmer was in Fargo, N.D on the mat with former teammates Chase Nelson and Evan Knutson. Nelson was a placer at the U.S. Open in Dec. and Knutson a four-time NCAA qualifier. Both men gave Zillmer tough practices and prepared him for what was and is to come.
Zillmer is excited to be able to focus full-time on wrestling and not have to be restrained because of school. With his first international experience in the bag, he is ready for more.
“It’s nice to get all of this exposure now and not be strapped with school, I can get up there [Fargo, ND] to train and train in Minnesota with the storm.”
He will continue you to train out of Minnesota with occasional trips to Fargo, N.D. as he is preparing for upcoming tours in Denmark and Croatia, and the U.S. World Team Trials in Las Vegas, April 28.
Zillmer is heading into everything ahead with a perspective that he feels can’t be beat.
“It’s the mindset of you’re gonna be positive, you’re gonna be the best,” he said.